Hi, everyone.
I hope you managed to stay cool through those hot days this July and[SK1] you are all expecting a restful and well-earned summer break. Just a few things from me this month so read on for more info.
The New Flags
Firstly, as a lot of you have already seen you can now enable the new EYFS 2021 flag set (and ELG 2021 if you’re in Reception) in preparation for September. You can enable any of the flag sets by going to Control Panel > Flags. But give this tutorial a read for more information on the EYFS 2021 set specifically. - Setting up EYFS 2021 (formerly Development Matters 2020)
Flags are now visible on both the Android and iOS apps, but you must ensure they are the most up-to-date versions. If you are still using Tapestry Classic, you will need to download our newer app (Tapestry Mobile with the colourful logo) in order to access the flags as well as other improvements and features.
This forum post goes into more detail on the changes we have made and what this means for you, your setting and your provision.
The Areas of Concern Screen Explained.
Speaking of the new EYFS, we have a few new monitoring screens which go alongside the new flags. My colleague Ben and I recorded another video recently where we look at the Areas of Concern screen in a bit more detail and breakdown some of the questions we have seen popping up. You can see the video on our YouTube channel here.
Product Support
Just a quick reminder that our product support team here at Tapestry HQ runs as normal through the summer holidays. So, should you need to get hold of us during your break, you can email customer.service@eyfs.info whenever you need. Our working hours are 9 – 5 every weekday.
However, we won't be running our online training sessions between the 1st of September to the 17th of October. This is our busiest time of year so we prioritise answering support tickets.
Infographics.
Have you ever visited our infographics page? If not, I’d thoroughly recommend having a look. We have over a dozen resources aimed at settings, parents and staff on a whole range of topics: End of Year To-Do lists, a guide to the new EYFS, The Why and How of Adding Observations, and more. You can see the full set here.
#ReclaimPlayfulness
This summer, Tapestry is collaborating with Learning With Parents, a charity focused on empowering parents to become involved with their children’s learning. We’ve gotten together to promote playing in our Summer of Play campaign (under the hashtag #ReclaimPlayfulness). We have created some resources that give ideas for playful activities parents can do with their children this summer. Some of the areas they cover are “physical”, “story” and “creative” among others. You can read more about the campaign and download the resources here.
Quick Tip
If you are adding new relatives onto your Tapestry account, or will be soon, here’s a few tips which might help.
After you have added the relatives to your account (either individually or in bulk), you can check their “status” by going to Control Panel > Manage Relatives:
Adding relatives in bulk via CSV (spreadsheet) file
· Active – this means they have a password already and should be able to log in as normal. They either set their own password via the welcome email, or you set one for them when adding them to the account.
· Activating – this means you have sent the activation email to them but they still need to interact with that email to set a password. It’s worth telling them the email may have gone to their spam folder.
· Not Activated – this means they have either not been sent the activation email yet, or they have been sent one and it has now expired. They have not yet set a password successfully and won’t be able to log in yet.
If any relatives are in the “not activated” stage, don’t worry! You can send them another activation email simply by clicking the cog menu next to their name > Retry activation. On the following page, you will see a few options but the top one will allow you to send them a new activation email. It’s also worth double checking the email address for the relative is correct.
Payments
If you wish to pay for Tapestry by cheque or BACs please can we remind you:
Cheques should be made payable to ‘The Foundation Stage Forum Ltd’ and NOT Tapestry or the early years foundation stage forum.
Also, please note that our business address changed 2 years ago. If you need to send a cheque, the address is The Foundation Stage Forum Ltd, WaterCourt, 65 High Street, Lewes, BN7 1XG
BACS – we moved our service provider for our banking in October 2019 and our bank is now HSBC sort code 40 18 22 / Account no 42445565
Our old bank account with Lloyds will be shut soon so payments made to that account in error will not be processed. If you need further information, please email the finance team on bacs@eyfs.info
If you do not deal with finance in your setting, please ensure this information is passed to the finance team so they can make sure their records are up to date.
That’s all from me. Again, have a lovely summer break everyone and talk to you again in August.
Take care,
Jack